As you may (or may not know) Aurea is a largely remote company, which means that I will eventually become remote as well! While I'm 90% excited, I'm also a little worried. I'm a self-proclaimed workaholic and I've always been a wake-up-shower-go-to-the-office-all-day-everyday kind of person. This habit was also drilled into me during the time I worked in Japan for a few years where it was required to come in the entire day every day - even during summer break when my students were all on vacation and I was sitting in the office (hard at work, obviously).

That being said, I'm a little apprehensive about the transition to working from home because...

I have trouble stopping myself from working if there isn't a clear time to kick myself out of the office and drive home

There is a 98.7% chance I will become a hermit and my wardrobe will only consist of sweatpants and hoodies

I will go cross-eyed from staring at the screen so long without coworkers to periodically ask questions so I can divert my eyes away from the screen

JoAnne Kruse, the Chief Human Resources Office at American Express Global Business Travel, wrote an article about the rise of virtual interaction specifically in regards to HR, but I think it is a recent trend spanning every department and every field. This is why I'm sure there are a decent amount of seasoned remote JiveWorks community members who may be able to provide some tips regarding working in a virtual environment. How do you make sure you peel yourself out of your seat, kick yourself out the doors and motivate yourself to change out of pajamas? Libby Taylor already gave me a solid piece of advice to turn my desk so I'm facing a window rather than a wall which would provide an opportunity to look outside to relax my eyes (as recommended by my optometrist so I stop straining my eyes to look at the screen so close to my face) so I look forward to hearing from the larger community as well!

Bonus question: I want a change of pace / change of scenery throughout the week. Do you have any recommended places to work from or places to avoid? Starbucks... the library... anything I'm missing?

Also if you didn't notice that I sneakily slipped in a reference to a Jive customer, Amex GBT, I wanted to give a shoutout to American Express Global Business Travel for their awesome article on HR Tech Outlook! It finally prompted me to ask my burning question regarding working remotely. Having Jive to connect with our coworkers is invaluable, but how do you maximize your day on a personal level?

Sarah, you are one of the most disciplined people I know, so I think you simply have to develop boundaries for yourself when it comes to working from home. I know that anything you put your mind to, you will accomplish.

Start with a dress code for yourself. Even when I work from home, I always wear something that I could still drop by an office place in, not dressy work, but not sloppy workout gear either.

Give yourself boundaries for working hours too. It might be easier to say when you definitely won't be working say from 7 pm to 7 am so that you can be flexible with your time between those hours (I know you like to fit other activities like working out into your day).

Get a sit stand desk and face it toward a window. Make sure you are moving. I never work in bed, never work on the sofa. I work at my desk, just like I would at work.

Get up and do something ever hour... run your dog around the block, grab a drink from the kitchen, get on the floor and play with your cat Ruby, even if it's for 3 minutes, that will build in some breaks.

Be sure to adhere to some kind of schedule for yourself... mealtimes, work out times... give yourself the structure that a work place would give you.

Be intentional about connecting with people remotely. We have amazing tools (video and texting), we just need to keep up the meetings and connections.

That's all I have for now, looking forward to seeing what others can suggest!

Have you ever tried using a timer? I tell myself I'll move every hour but by the time I look at the clock it's been two or three hours or I'll tell myself I'll do it once I'm finished with whatever I'm currently working on which never works out. I've been playing with the idea of setting an alarm that forces me to drop what I'm doing (unless it's an emergency) and go for a walk down the block.

Hi, Sarah! I started working from home full time two years ago this month. Most people I speak to say that they could never work from home because they would get too distracted, but my problem was the opposite and I found myself working longer hours. Libby's suggestions are spot on, particularly moving every hour. Here are some other things that I have done to help keep work and home separate.

I have a room set up as an office in my house. For mindless spreadsheet tasks, I will occasionally work in front of the TV, but most of the time I am at my desk. This also makes it easier for me to stop working at the end of the day because I literally leave the (home) office.

I, too, dress as if I would be seen in public, including jewelry and makeup. For important meetings, I dress up in a blazer or dress, just like I would if I were going into the office.

We recently got a treadmill and I take 10-minute walking breaks, rain or shine.

I am transparent and flexible. My typical workday is 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., but sometimes I need to login to a 5 p.m. call, and sometimes I need to go to a 10 a.m. doctor's appointment. I send my boss emails or texts letting her know if my schedule is changing and have an open, ongoing dialogue with her about what she expects and my performance.

I have started muting Google chat when I want to work without interruptions, which has been wonderful for my productivity. I have tried the timer and it doesn't work for me. Some tasks take longer and having a timer go off can break my concentration.

I like to read and we have a learning goal, so I choose a work-related book that I read and discuss with my boss. This gets my eyes away from the screen and is a fun little break for me.

I absolutely do not login to email at all at least one day a week. Not even on my phone. I look at nothing worked related Saturday or Sunday. This has really helped me completely unplug from work, which allows room in my brain to think about other things.

I love working from home. I am an introvert, so I get plenty of time to myself, which is great. I also have a lot of control over my schedule. Sometimes my getting up every hour involves throwing a load of laundry in, or unloading the dishwasher. You will figure out the systems and rhythms that work for you. Maybe you will want to start working earlier or later, or maybe you will block out 12-1 p.m. every day as your time. Have fun figuring out how you work best and don't be afraid to make tweaks if something that was working is not working anymore.

Thank you for the tips, Maren! And congratulations on your two year work from home anniversary

Muting your chat is a great idea, that is often how I get pulled back to work. I get a mesage when I'm off work and I think "I can just step into the office for a sec..." and then never leave. Usually the messages are not urgent, but I feel like I have to respond right away if I see them, so I may need to avoid seeing the messages when I'm off work to set some boundaries.

I love your learning goal idea. That's a good way to change the pace and still be learning something new.

Hi Sarah! +1 to all of the other responses (I've been WFH for more than a decade, and agree with almost every point). I thought I might flag an additional angle: have you thought about upgrading the equipment you'll use every day?

It might be different for you, but WFH gave me an opportunity to really choose the equipment I used, as I was no longer obliged to use company-issued gear in the office. That's given me some productivity wins, but in most cases it's also made a positive difference to things like ergonomics, which can make you feel a little less tired at the end of a shift. Some things that have worked for me include:

Monitors - have two, or link your laptop to a big display and use your laptop's built-in screen as a second screen; more overall screen real estate can make a huge difference to productivity, but it also lets you shift apps like email to your peripheral vision, where you can check by glancing rather than having to click or alt-tab.

Headset - if you're going to spend a lot of time in Hangouts or on Skype calls, a really good wireless headset with ear cups that cover your ears completely can make a huge difference to how you feel after many hours of calls!

Chair - it's tempting to just use one you have, but it turns out that many domestic chairs aren't ideal for sitting at a desk all day - and might even create physical problems for you in the long run.

Keyboard and mouse - sounds trivial, but if we spend 8+ hours a day tapping / holding these things, it's worth investing in really good ones; this is especially so if you've been issued with a company laptop that has a small keyboard.

You may already have this covered, but it's something I always flag to friends when they make the switch. Hope this helps.

You make very very good suggestions Alan, thank you! I'm glad you pointed it out as I'm sure this is also helpful for others who are moving toward working from home. I do have my monitors and chair all covered. When I started working from home I realized I needed a home office, not the kitchen table As for a keyboard and mouse, I found out the hard way about the benefit of ergonomic keyboards and just got one recently. One of the best decisions I've made.

I love working from home, if not solely for the lack of fluorescent lights!

I don't find I have issues with timing boundaries, because as a team and unit we largely all abide by work hours, so no one is really sending emails or chats after hours, and even if they where response is generally not expected( we decided on this as a team and most of us perform work that doesn't necessitate that type of response). Additionally, even the on site team use flexible scheduling and pop out to do errands, so I guess my workplace culture is super supportive.

While I'm not as disciplined as Libby, I try to change clothes every morning even if it's from pj's to yoga pants. If you revert to sweatpant fantasy land and still feel productive and good about yourself, then I say live that sweatpant life. I also admit I am one of those people that stops in the middle of the day and empties the dish washer, throws in a load of laundry, walks the dog, plays ukulele etc. This can be perceived as unproductive, but honestly doing a simple task allows me do to thought work and get up from my work spot( I work from a desk, the couch, anywhere really). For example, I'm thinking about article ideas, content strategies, writing drafts in my head while I do those tasks. I need the time away from a device to do deep thought work.

The lack of coworkers is a real struggle at times, I need idea energy, meaning I need to talk about new things and get feedback. I used to have natural feedback loops because I would just take a break and find myself talking to a colleague about something I didn't even know I was considering. Now, I have to remind myself I can still do that over, chat, email, phone call, it just takes more intent. Also conversely, when I'm having a crazy day or feeling overwhelmed I miss people being like "yo, it's cool", so I find I have to put more intent into that too into letting people know how I am and vice versa (because I was largely the counselor/mediator on my team before I physically left). Depending on your location and neighborhood, you could likely setup a meetup of other telecommuting folks that need to get out of the "office" during the day or have a happy hour.

If I'm really struggling one day, I'll go work from a coffee shop unless I have super important calls, because I've found, at least in my hood, it's essentially one big coworking space, you see the same people all the time. Or I'll work somewhere for breakfast or lunch, the world is your buffet.

I used to have natural feedback loops because I would just take a break and find myself talking to a colleague about something I didn't even know I was considering. Now, I have to remind myself I can still do that over, chat, email, phone call, it just takes more intent.

I love this!!! "It just takes more intent." This is absolutely one of my greatest worries. I'm the type of person to talk things out and by the end of the conversation I have great fabulous ideas that are genius and inspirational . I guess I'll just have to discipline myself to do things with "more intent" and realize that that is important and do what I can to meet that need.

Thanks for the advice, I love hearing how other people work from home, it's so varied! Finding that balance for myself is going to be a challenge, but these are great ideas

A great office chair is a must! Absolutely essential. You really have to spend some money on this. Ergonomics for us desk jockeys is so important and will make a massive difference. I also have stand sit desk which is another very useful addition to your office. Good keyboard and mouse is also something to be looked at.

For my own start to the working day, I would switch on my PC before 8am, check, mails/systems, go through plans and work for the day, go downstairs for breakfast and then go for a walk or a cycle. Always felt better doing that before sitting down.

I definitely need to do more research into office chairs. I just picked out the one that felt most comfortable in the store!

I currently have a similar habit of sweeping through emails / inbox shortly after waking up and then doing my morning routine after which gives me time to wake up and get going. Glad to hear I'm not the only one!

I started working 100% remotely six months ago and I just love it. Before starting, I was skeptical as I really like working directly with people. I enjoy coffee breaks, talking to people, getting to know them, let them know me - I'm a very social person (which might sound bizarre as I'm a tech weirdo ). Anyway, I have two small kids (which leave every morning, with help of my wife, to kindergarten) and this remote setup is just awesome. I don't lose time commuting - I can spend this time with kids and I have absolute flexibility on working hours, so if I need to go shopping, or visit a doctor, I'm not stressed that I "cheat" or something. I know, this time does not count and it's a huge relief. I'm a master of my time and I know better how to manage it.

The biggest disadvantage, for me, is lack of "physical" contact with people every day, small talk, etc. I still do small talk a lot, but using Slack or another communicator is not the same. I sometimes even make short video calls with ppl I know working on the same or similar project - that helps but it's not the same UX

I wish you good luck with your new remote adventure. I hope you'd like it.

On the topic of video, for a while at UBM, we did end-of-week work out loud videos. Each of us would post a quick 3-5 minute video that we took using our phones, summing up what we had done during the week. This helped us get to know each other a little more, because personality comes through in the videos. And it also helped us keep from overlapping on projects, or finding out what the others were up to or how they were progressing on things.

As for overall, something I found helpful was to set aside one day a week where I took myself out to lunch. This helped me make sure I actually left the house once in a while, gave me something to look forward to, and made sure that once a week I actually broke away from my computer during the day.

Just our team. They were quick selfie-type videos. I bought a tripod so I could easily do it without my arm falling off. And I also went out on my deck sometimes, using the scenery to tell a little bit about me (sort of like the "what's the view out your window" thread people use in community). Another team member used a filter on his to make it look vintage, tell me he had more video skill than me just by knowing those existed.... Like I said, you got to learn more about one another by non-verbal clues.

Like Ben, I've been working from home a long time. Something I remember from when I transitioned from 3 days a week at home to full time at home - even that was a big transition. Cut yourself some slack, and realize it will take time to adjust, as it does with any other big change. And reach out to your community for help if you need it!

I've been watching this post and finally had time to respond to it today. All the responses above are valuable and are a great foundation for you to build upon.

I've been WFH full time since 2001. I love working from home and feel far more productive doing so than I did going into an office. Here are some random tips...

Getting dressed as if you were going out is part of my work habits. And you never know these days when a conference call will turn out to be a video call. Still, it's awesome to be able to just get right to work in your pajamas super early in the morning if there's a deadline or emergency.

Co-working on occasion is awesome. It's been an absolutely wonderful change in my work and social life since the Chicago User Group started doing co-working days every month or two. See if you can find some people from your company who are nearby or people who do your kind of work -- that's what has made it so valuable for me.

I really like my sit/stand desk. If you don't have one, Ikea sells them now and I like the motor better than the crank handle I used to use.

Work at building your relationship with your boss and others at the company. As mentioned above, you have to be intentional about this, because you won't get the casual interaction that normally happens in the office and that helps people get to know and trust each other. Make some time for personal chit chat during calls to make up for that.

I completely understand what you mean by dressing the part, just in case a conference call turns into a video call. I was sick last week and working from home a few days. Had to politely bow out of using my camera in a few unexpected video calls because I was still in my fluffy pink robe!

HUGE shoutout for your co-working idea! You brought that to the Bay Area User Group as well, and we had our last meeting turn into a co-working day. It was awesome and I can't wait for next time

Fellow Chicago User Group member of Ted Hopton here. I'm not a 100% WFH person, but I do work from home a couple, and sometimes more, days a week. As a manager of a global team, roughly half of my team aren't in the office with me on any given day anyway, and I manage developers/technical people who do releases and things in "off-hours" so I've found my team members get a better work-life balance if I allow flexible work hours and locations, so everyone on my team works from home when they need to. Working with a global team, I also end up with calls at stupid-o-clock, so I frequently have days when I've got conf. calls back to back from 6am-noon.

While I very much like being able to work from home, like you, I tend to be a workaholic, so these are the things I've found that help me to avoid having my WFH days kill me (because it can be a struggle not to get sucked in).

As a few others have said, the chair's the thing. In my case, I've found that I need more than ONE location and chair to do it for me. I have a "relax the back" zero gravity chair that I spend a lot of my time in with a laptop, but I also have a real home office with a really good office chair and I split my time between the two. Both locations have good light. My zero g chair is a room with a TV/stereo so if I want some background noise that's where I can have that. My office is where I can go if I need to focus/have more quiet. But I definitely switch during the day because it forces me to move and I've found sitting in the same chair - no matter how good it is - I end up in pain. I tried standing but I found I was cocking one hip or just not standing with great posture, etc. so the zero g ended up being better. Whatever works for you - I think changing your position, moving around, etc. is going to be important.

I also have a friend who works near my house so we'll often try to meet for lunch on the days I'm remote. It gets me out of the house, forces me to be presentable, adds a break in the day that I wouldn't take otherwise when I'm WFH (I grab something quick in the kitchen and work while I eat...or worse, get "busy" and don't realize I've not eaten until it's suddenly 3pm!), gets me to move/some fresh air, etc. All the same reasons it's good for us to take a lunch break on any other day of the work week!

I'll sometimes start some laundry or something - not even because it really needs doing - but again just to force me to get up and MOVE. Otherwise, I can find that it's been 4-5 hours and I haven't moved at all.

I don't know what tools you'll have for communication, other than Jive. We use HipChat (Atlassian) but there are tons like it - Slack, etc. One of the things I like about HipChat the best is the ability to use animated (custom as well as the ones they provide) emojis and icons. We've created close to if not over 100 in the 2 years or so we've been using it. We have team rooms where we all communicate daily as well as the ability to have individual chats. Since I don't get to see half of my team more than 1-2x per year, the kind of communication you have is really important. We have our daily "standups" over webcam a couple times a week, we do our team meetings with video/webchats, we use HipChat, and we have our own version of Jive (our team area is a hidden space in our external community we've called "Gringotts" - like the Harry Potter bank because we're all serious nerds.) Between the custom icons, pictures people post of their day/weekends, our Geek T-Shirt Fridays - which can also be submitted remotely, we've managed to make a bunch of people working across the world who rarely see each other in person feel like we "see" each other every day.

It's also great that there are co-working facilities popping up in cities all over the country now. So, you CAN find a few fellow Jivers - or Jive customers - and grab a space for cheap and meet up once a month or something if you want to see some faces for a change!

Moving around is a great idea. I get antsy when I sit for too long. In the office I have various things that I sit on, including two different chairs, one of those strange rolling cabinets that are padded on top to double as a seat which I sometimes kneel on instead of sit (I have a sit/standing desk so I can adjust the height), two yoga balls (which I may have stolen from my neighbors) and of course standing. At home I'll have to start thinking about switching locations as I doubt I will have so many things to stand, sit, kneel on during the work day

I’ve been WFH for about 7 years now, and I would second the advice already given:

Get dressed like you are going to an office

Good chair and sit/stand desk (I need to get one of those - Ted Hopton, any recommendations?)

Others I would expand upon:

Social. As much of a zealot that I am about online enterprise collaboration, humans are social animals and we need to, at least occasionally, be physically in the presence of other humans who can acknowledge our existence on the planet. I make it a point to go out to lunch with a friend or friends at least once a week (I sort of have a rotation of about 10 folks that I talk to and set up lunch with). Sometimes you need to be able to complain to someone about your boss - even if, as in my case, I'm my boss.

Notifications. Turn off news and social media notifications on your laptop, phone and tablet (except for Jive of course). These just break up your work and task switching is incredibly inefficient.

Exercise. A must. Since you won't even be burning the calories you did before getting into and out of the car, make room for exercise. I walk/run about 4 miles a day and that is time for me to let thoughts coalesce, listen to a book, or daydream. The cardio will keep your mood elevated and stable.

Work Tools. Lastly, make sure you have good tools to work with (in addition to the chair and desk. Get and use a solid ToDo app. I use Nozbe, but there are others like RememberTheMilk and ToDoist.

You'll do great - just put the dog in the other room before the conference call starts.

You'll do great - just put the dog in the other room before the conference call starts.

I hesitated for a long moment trying to remember if I have been on a conference call with you because this is so accurate . My dog barking is definitely the cause of embarrassment on a few conference calls, which I try to minimize by putting as many doors between myself and him or putting myself on mute. It's a tough issue to figure out sometimes.

Thanks for the tips! I definitely need to keep on top of the gym. It's easy to miss :-/

My tip: Pack down your desk at the end of your working day. If you leave your laptop open its so much easier to jump back in there and reply to that one mail. Pack it up, tidy your stationery away and roll up the headset cable.

Also allow yourself to take the bits with you that you want. I still nip out in the morning to get my coffee because i'm not sure I can even open my email without a Hazelnut latte in hand just like I did in the office. But when it's a dark, gloomy day and a little cold, I like to light a candle on my desk (that would have absolutely been frowned upon in the office) just because I can.

Freya Crawshaw - You. Are. Brilliant! Tidying up my desk and shutting down everything is something I usually do before a long weekend or vacation because it makes me feel better and I love coming back to a tidy desk. Doing it daily is a good way to end and start the day. Thanks for the tip

While there is a ton of great stuff in here answering your question, I'm (hopefully) going to simplify the answer. First, my last 8 years at Oracle were more or less working from home full-time and now in my own business it continues (I visit my current customer once every 2 weeks).

From what I see of you and those answering, you are a very disciplined person and that is the secret sauce --- discipline! My advice is to close your eyes and map the journey of your day in your head. This is akin to writing a persona or user profile for that new community you are starting. Don't document it; don't schedule it; don't force a regimen or routine; and, don't write reminders or set alarms. Instead, use your business calendar (or use an app that let's you see and manage your business calendar and personal calendar simultaneously such as Google or Outlook) to manage your day. A golden rule that my customer has actually taught me, and I love it, is that all meetings end at "xx:50 or xx:55". That's a 5-10 minute break to take a breather, walk, play with your cat, something not work-related. You don't need reminders or anything else because it is built in to your schedule!

My simplified advice is thus:

Keep it simple, apply discipline, do it your way (and only your way), be flexible, unless there is an important/urgent business need - turn off business in non-business hours (more discipline!), wear comfortable clothing (we all have different views on this) and make sure your home office has a comfortable setting.

I am orders of magnitude more productive and happier working from home. As a thinking type of a person, office noise and distractions are problematic to me and the commute here in the Bay Area adds a stress factor that is terrible.

I've been WFH for 10+ years now. I'm at least 3x more productive at home but also have the problem of stopping for the day. I've found it helps to shut my office door and I'll only go back in if I need something else in the room. Since I get so much done at home, it drives me nuts when I can't do the same on business trips. I had to finally tell myself that's OK and just plan items on my to do list appropriately.

This popped up the other day and it was great to see someone fairly influencial encouraging people to WFH:

This is my second job WFH. First was Apple. Honestly, I enjoy it and have got a good rhythm with it, but it's not for everybody. I haven't gotten past the changing out of PJs part. But, my brother had an idea that I didn't take him up on but maybe it will work for you. So he works for this company called GRID Collaborative (not that I recommend them, just an example) OUR SPACE – GRID Collaborative Workspace he said that they charge about $600/month (I know, kind of steep) but you can probably write it off and it may be worth your sanity? Might be something to think about if you truly feel you need to separate home and work. I too have spent a lot of time in Japan and know how they hold each as a sacred and separate entity. Hope this helps!